09:16 AM EST, 01/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Verizon Communications ( VZ ) introduced Friday Verizon AI Connect, with Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google Cloud and Meta (META) among the early adopters.

The company said Verizon AI Connect integrates its existing 5G, edge computing, and network assets to support AI-driven real-time decision-making, or inferencing. The new product suite is expected to expand its AI ecosystem and support the deployment of AI technologies across the company's infrastructure and client base, Verizon said.

Verizon said it is also expanding partnerships, including collaborations with Nvidia ( NVDA ) for GPU-based edge platforms and cloud services provider Vultr for cloud computing.

Shares of Verizon were up 1.9% in recent Friday premarket activity.